Under Your Skin
by Riyan
Summary: HD. Slytherin halloween party. one shot. The slytherins have a house party and invite the golden trio.. fun ensues.. also HGBZ, SFJFF and RWPP


Hola. It's me. Riyan. Here a lovely little (ha.. little my ass it's actually quite long) one shot for you all! Enjoy!

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The room was dark. Of course it was, Malfoy was probably planning an ambush. It was probably all a cover. Harry sighed and checked the invitation again. 

_Potter,_

_You are damn lucky enough to be invited to the annual Slytherin House Halloween Party. Don't you dare bring any of the other Gryffindorks with you. It's not their kind of thing. I don't know if it's your kind of thing either, but screw it. Wear something attractive if you know what's good for you. That means none of those ugly baggy clothes. Oh and get rid of your goddamn glasses. _

_The Room of Requirement will be slightly different than normal. You don't have to do the lame walk past three times thing. Just say the password to the door and it will let you in. Password is "Harry Potter is my sexy bitch." Don't look at me like that, I didn't make it up. _

_Don't turn up before ten. Go to the lame school party first. Then say you're not feeling well and get your arse over to the REAL party. Yeah, so it should be a rave, so come. It won't be just Slytherins, there will be other houses too. _

_Bring Weasley and Granger. For some unfathomable reason some of my housemates want them to come. To be honest my housemates want **YOU **to come for unknown reasons. I just have to write the invites. Anyway, that's not the point. Bring your bloody friends and make sure they look decent. No home knitted jumpers on the Weasel and nothing frumpy on Granger. _

_Also, don't breathe a single word of this to anyone else. Or I will fuck you up. Big time. _

_Yours,_

_The Ever Sexy Draco Malfoy_

_Oh yeah. Forgot to mention. It's on Friday. You probably know that because it's when the lame ass school party is, but in case you've been living under a rock for the past.. Well.. two months. Yeah.. Whatever. See you there. _

Harry glanced over at Ron and Hermione. They had followed the instructions and were wearing nice clothes. Hermione was in well fitting jeans with heeled black, leather boots and a rather low cut, black shirt. She was wearing a necklace of black cord with a dark blue pendant. Ron was wearing a deep red collared shirt and black trousers.

Harry was wearing a green, rather tight fitting, shirt. He had followed the instructions about his glasses and had allowed Hermione to fix his vision. The green of his shirt therefore brought out the color of his now unmasked eyes. He was wearing black jeans and trainers on his bottom half.

"Come on then," he said to them and they entered the room. The blackness vanished after they had walked a few steps and they realised that it had only been a safety precaution. There was in fact a party room inside. But it was rather empty.

The room was larger and spacious with lots of dark corners. There were sofas lining the walls and several in the middle of the room too. There were a few tables spread in amongst the sofas. These surfaces however were hidden beneath the large amounts of alcohol that were on top of them. There were also tables of food and cigarettes. The room was lit by lights shining up the wall from the floor. It gave the room an secretive feel as it was rather gloomy. There were a few people hurrying around making sure things were in order.

"You're early, Potter," a voice drawled from a corner. Draco Malfoy unfolded himself from the sofa that he was sitting on and came towards them. "The invitation said not to turn up before ten. It's twenty to."

"Sorry, Malfoy," Harry replied. "But since we're here do you want any help?"

"No. We have it under control. You can just set about getting drunk off your faces." Malfoy gestured at the bottles of alcohol all over the room.

"Actually Malfoy," Harry said. "I think we'll wait until a few more people have arrived." Malfoy shrugged.

"Suit yourselves," he said, then went back to his couch. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione again. Ron was looking in awe at the amount of alcohol. Hermione looked awkward. Blaise Zabini wandered over to them, pausing in his task of bringing the spare alcohol in and putting it under tables.

"Hey there," he said, smiling. They nodded back. "Cat got your tongue?" he asked. Harry laughed,

"Kind of, yeah. It's a bit weird talking to Slytherins."

"We're not so bad you know," the dark haired Slytherin said. "Anyhow, I have to get back to making sure we won't run dry even if every single student in the school wants to come and get pissed!" He winked at Hermione who laughed. "See you around." He smiled again and left. Ron scowled.

"I don't like him," he said.

"Why not?" Hermione asked. "He seems really nice when the house barriers are down." Harry nodded.

"Did you see the way he looked at you?" Ron asked her. "He was just chatting you up!"

"And so what if he was!" Hermione snapped. "In case you haven't noticed Ron, I'm a girl. Didn't we have this argument back in Fourth Year?" Ron shrugged, still scowling. "Oh, stop it," she said. " I think you're just jealous!"

"Why would I be jealous of that prat?" Ron asked, anger flashing in his eyes. Hermione sighed and said nothing. Harry knew what Hermione meant, but wasn't going to say anything to Ron about it. This was something he had to realise on his own.

The door behind them opened and Seamus walked in.

"Harry!" he exclaimed. "I didn't know you were going to be here! We could have come together!" The Irish boy's natural exuberance was infectious. Harry smiled. "Hi Ron. Hi Hermione." They smiled too. Seamus picked up a bottle of vodka from the nearest table and opened it. Harry grabbed some glasses for them all and Seamus started pouring.

Half an hour later and the party was really starting to liven up. Most of the guests had arrived and most were starting to get drunk by now. Seamus, who was the biggest lightweight in Gryffindor (apart from the girls) was trying to chat up Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"So, Justin. Nice tie you've got there.. It's very soft.. Very stroke-able." He grabbed Justin's tie and started stroking it. Justin's eyes widened. He stammered as he tried to tell Seamus that his tie was nice too, only to realised that Seamus wasn't wearing one. "Your hair's nice too." Seamus continued, ignoring Justin's attempt at a return compliment. Justin smiled and moved closer to Seamus.

"You think so?"

"Oh yes. Very nice. Soft. Pretty." Justin blushed but moved closer still and put his hand on Seamus's waist. Seamus needed no further convincing and smashed his lips into Justin's. The other boy kissed him back enthusiastically and they moved off into a hidden corner of the room for the rest of the night.

Harry watched this exchange with amusement. He wished he had Seamus's courage and/or ability to get hammered easily. Harry was already heavily into the vodka himself, but it wasn't affecting him much. It never did. He sighed and picked up a cigarette from a nearby table. He lit it and inhaled deeply. Hermione, who was still standing with him, looked at him sternly. Ron was standing a few feet away, attempting to dance.

"Harry, you know how bad those are for you, don't you?" Hermione asked.

"Yep, Herm, I do, but at the moment I really don't care." Harry replied. She continued to look severely at him. "Oh come on, Herm, it's a party. Have one yourself!"

She shook her head and wandered off to find more to drink where she ran into Blaise Zabini again. He was pulling out a bottle from underneath a table where she had seen him hide it earlier in the evening. He stood up and grinned at her.

"How are you doing, Granger?"

"You can call me Hermione," she said. He opened the vodka bottle he had gotten out and offered her some which she accepted.

"How are you finding the party then, Hermione?" he asked.

"Oh, it's really fun!" she enthused. He lit up a cigarette and offered her one. She hesitated for a moment before remembering what Harry had said and accepting it. Harry caught her eye from across the room and smirked at her. She blushed.

"So, Blaise," she said. "Tell me a bit about yourself."

"What's there to know?"

"I don't know.. Tell me something you haven't told anyone else," she said, surprising herself with her forwardness.

"Something I haven't told anyone else, eh?" He thought for a moment. "Well, I haven't told anyone I think you're hot." He grinned.

"Oh really?" she asked, leaning in to whisper in his ear. He nodded, stepping backwards into the table. She laughed. He blushed. He didn't know why he was so nervous all of a sudden. She didn't know why she was so forward. They mentioned this to each other and both laughed. Then there was an awkward silence where they both drank their vodka, puffed on their cigarettes and avoided each other eyes.

The music changed. A slow song came on and they gratefully fell into each others arms. They put down their cigarettes and drinks and revolved slowly, lost in each other, ignoring the other people around them. Blaise shook himself mentally and tried to stop being so shy. He leaned in and kissed her. Hermione looked surprised, but kissed him back. He pulled away. She looked confused.

"Go out with me," he said. She smiled.

"OK." He grinned happily.

"I've wanted to ask you that for so long. I've secretly liked you for ages." He blushed. Her stomach fluttered.

"Wow, I never knew." He shrugged. "I hadn't really noticed you. Well, I had, but not really this way. Well, I had, but I didn't think anything could happen with it. You know because of the house thing.. And I'm blabbering.." He laughed.

"It's fine. I do that all the time. But I know what you mean with the house thing.. Otherwise I might have approached you earlier.. I've kind of been obsessed with you for a while. Oh God, I wasn't supposed to say that." She smiled and leaned into kiss him again, banishing his worries.

Harry watched this exchange with a grin on his face. He was happy for Hermione. He knew Ron would be upset. He still liked her even though he had realised that the reality of them ever going out was unlikely.

He glanced around for the redhead and found him talking to Pansy Parkinson. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but Ron kept laughing and Pansy kept smiling. Harry was pleased. He hated seeing Ron pine after Hermione. He refilled his vodka glass and wandered over to get another cigarette. When he looked at them again, they were kissing. He sighed. Everyone seemed to be kissing someone. Everyone but Harry.

"I see our friends have deserted us in favour of each other, Potter," a voice said from beside him. He turned to find Draco Malfoy standing there, cigarette in hand, swaying slightly.

"So they have, Malfoy," Harry agreed.

"Don't call me Malfoy. My name's Draco." Harry nodded. Malfoy was drunk. Hell, he was drunk. Or at least slightly tipsy. Alcohol didn't seem to affect him much. "So tell me Potter, sorry Harry, what's it like being the Boy-Who-Lived?" Malfoy asked.

"It's quite crap to be honest. Everyone thinks you _like_," Harry spat out the word. "Being famous." He sighed.

"I know what you mean," Draco said. Harry frowned.

"You do?"

"Yep. My father always shows me off at his dinner parties and tells his bloody Death Eater friends how I'll make a great Death Eater myself. And I don't want to be a Death Eater." Harry was shocked at this confession. Not only was Malfoy_ telling_ him that his dad was a Death Eater, he was openly saying he didn't want to be one. "No, Harry, I don't. Don't look so shocked. It's not a good look for you." He shut Harry's mouth with his hand. Harry hadn't realised it was open.

"But, I had always assumed that you did!"

"Never assume Potter. It makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'." Harry looked confused until Draco drew the word in the air and separated the letters. Then he laughed.

"Nice one Malfoy!" he said. Malfoy bristled.

"I told you to call me Draco," he said coldly.

"I'm sorry, it's just a hard habit to break. There's a little bit of sensory overload here."

"It's ok, Harry." Draco smiled. Harry stared. It was the first time he'd ever seen Draco smile properly. Without malice. It made his insides go fuzzy. He shook himself mentally. Why should Mal-_Draco_'s smile make him feel happy? They had only been on amiable terms for about three minutes. '_Although_,' Harry thought, '_He _is_ hot. You can't deny you've always thought of him as good looking._' Harry frowned.

"What's wrong Harry?" Draco asked.

"Nothing. Just something inside my head."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Nothing to do with.." his voice dropped to a whisper so Harry had to lean in close in order to hear him. "You-Know-Who, is it?" Harry shook his head.

"It's you," he whispered. Draco looked confused. They were still leaning in towards each other.

"What about me?" Draco leaned closer, his warm breath ghosting over Harry's lips. Harry gulped. This was all wrong. Or was it? Harry had figured out a little while ago that he was gay. Or at least bi. But he was having difficulty coming to terms with it due to the attention he was bound to receive if someone told the papers.

"Um.. that.. you're.. that.. I'm.." Harry was stuttering and he knew it but he couldn't do anything about it. "That.. I might like you."

"What? Scared Potter? Scared of me?" Draco leaned even closer.

"No!" Harry moved backwards, bumping into a table behind him.

"Scared of what you.. _want_." Draco said the last word with relish and smirked. "Scared of what you _are_." Harry's eyes grew wide with fear.

"What do you mean?"

"Scared that you're.. dare I say it? Gay?" Harry paled.

"Fuck you, Malfoy."

"Anytime _Potter_." He smirked again, but his eyes were colder than they were, as if Harry had struck a nerve.

"Wait.. you're gay?"

"Yes," Draco spat.

"Oh. Sorry."

"For what? For the fact that I like boys?"

"No. For what I said, you dork."

"Did you just call me a dork?"

"Were you not listening to my apology?" Harry asked, exasperated. He didn't even really know what he was saying any longer. The words were just pouring out of his mouth unchecked.

"I was. But then you called me a dork."

"It was an affectionate insult, Draco."

"Oh so we like me again now, do we?" Draco asked.

"What! Draco, you're confusing me."

"Never mind."

"No. What were we talking about?"

"We were talking about how you're gay."

"Shh," hissed Harry. "I don't want it getting out. The papers will have a field day!"

"The papers have a field day when you change breakfast cereal, Harry. Stop caring what people think of you. Live your life for you. Screw everyone else (metaphorically or otherwise). It's your goddamn life! Not theirs!" Harry was shocked by this out burst but what Draco was saying was true.

He had never wanted to put a toe out of line in case the whole world found out and felt he had let them down. He took it all too personally. He should have ignored the what the press said about him. He should have never let it get under his skin. And this time, he would just forget about the press and do something for him. Even if it was just because Draco was drunk and wouldn't remember it in the morning. He wanted to do it, so he would. He leaned forward again.

"You're right, you know, Draco," he said. Draco lifted an eyebrow.

"I am?"

"Yes," said Harry and leaned in even further, closing the gap between their lips. To Harry it was heaven. Never in his life had a kiss felt so right. Draco returned it with such vigour that Harry was swept off of his metaphorical feet. Draco pushed him back against a table as their tongues began to battle.

Harry was lost to the world. This was all that mattered. _Draco Malfoy_ was all that mattered. He was dimly aware of a flash going off but didn't care. Nothing else mattered. This was what was right.

He didn't care what the newspapers would say the next day. They might say he was drunk. Well he was, he justwasn'tdrunkon alcohol. He was drunk on Draco. And Draco.. Well he was just drunk. And blatantly had a crush on him anyway.

Harry noticed dimly that there was silence in the room and opened his eyes. The party had stopped and everyone was staring at them. He pulled away. Draco looked confusedly at him. Harry looked around pointedly.

"Ah," said Draco.

"Yes," Harry agreed. Silence still reigned. Everybody was still staring at them. Even the people who had been _busy_ had stopped to stare. Harry blushed. Draco didn't say anything but stared at his feet.

"Right, well, I guess now's as good a time as any to tell you all that I'm gay," Harry said. Another flash went off. "Yeah, take your bloody pictures. I don't care. I'm not going to hide." More flashes went off. Harry shook his head and turned back to Draco who was still staring at his feet. He lifted Draco's head with a hand under his chin. Draco stared at him for a moment before saying,

"Well done, Potter. I'm proud." Harry smiled.

"What about you though? Do you care? What will your father say?"

"I don't care what my father thinks and I don't care who knows it." Harry nodded. Another flash went off. Draco leaned closer to Harry and whispered, "Shall we give them something to _really_ photograph?" Harry looked at him surprised, and then leaned in to kiss him again. The people with the cameras took a few more pictures, and then people seemed to lose interest. They wanted to get on with their own fun.

Harry was surprised. He thought there would have been more scandal. More whispering. More jeers, or hatred, or comments. But there was nothing. Gay people were nothing new after all. And if Harry was happy, well, then, the rest of the world was happy. Or at least the rest of the students at the party. Harry didn't want to think about the morning. Or the rest of the world. All he wanted to think about was here and now. So that was all he thought about.

It was all he thought about when he followed Draco back to his room. It was all he thought about as they made love on his bed. And in the shower. And on the sofa. He didn't even contemplate the fact that Draco had his own room. He just thought about the there and then. It was only when he finally left the dungeons on Saturday afternoon that he really stopped to think about the future. He was forced to as a reporter ambushed him in the Entrance Hall.

"Are you really gay Harry?" she asked. It was not Rita Skeeter. The reporter was instead blonde and looked young. She was holding a quill over some parchment, ready to copy down what he had to say.

"You don't have a _Quick Quotes Quill_ do you?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, of course not. That takes away from the journalism!" she cried. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Kathleen Kelly, Daily Prophet."

"Harry Potter."

"I know." He smiled a fake smile at her. "So are you really gay?"

"Yes." He was already bored of the interview. It was inevitable and he hated it.

"You weren't just drunk and horny?"

"NO!" he almost shouted this.

"OK. And your.. ah.. lover is Draco Malfoy?"

"Yes."

"The son of the Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't that have complications?"

"Why should it? Draco's life is his own. Why should he care what his father, or anyone else for that matter, thinks of him."

"I see. And how do you think the girls will take this news, Harry?"

"I don't know. Or care. If my popularity drops, fine. To be honest it would be a blessing rather than a curse."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Write this down will you. I HATE BEING IN THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION! I don't care what people think of me. I want to just live my goddamn life for me, not live up to the name people have placed upon me. I'm not bloody perfect!" He turned to storm off when he heard someone clapping. He turned around. Draco was standing by the door to the dungeons and applauding him. He had obviously just watched the whole exchange. Harry smiled and walked over to him.

"Well done. I'm proud.. Now come on, Potter. It's lunch time." He forcibly turned Harry around and started marching him towards the Great Hall.

"One more question before you go! Why Draco?" Kathleen called. Draco looked annoyed at this question and fumbled in his robes for his wand, mumbling darkly.

"He sees me for what I really am. Just another human being." Draco looked up. He stopped searching for his wand, stared at Harry for a moment and then nodded.

"Thank you for your time. Would you mind posing for a photo?"

"Yes, I would mind." Harry said at the same time as Draco said no. Harry looked at him, confused.

"What?" Draco asked. "I've never been in the paper!"

"Well then," said Harry, leaning closer to the blonde. "Let's make it the front page shall we?" And sure enough, as they kissed a flash went off. And for the first time, Harry didn't care. He didn't care what the press had to say. He wouldn't let it get under his skin this time.

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Hope you liked it! R&R if you will. 


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